So Sorry

Artist Statement for “So Sorry”

When someone we love dies, or someone loved by someone we know, we feel the need to speak, to comfort and acknowledge the sadness, the loss. It is difficult to find the right words. Too often words seem inadequate. Knowing what to say, what words are accepted by our culture, what might be of comfort to our friends or ourselves, is a matter of experience that many of us don’t have.

These days you can find lots of advice online as to what is appropriate. I found the text for this book on Facebook. The text has been edited to remove references to a specific event. There is nothing ironic in the repetition of words. They are inadequate because they are merely words, but they are all we have when arms can’t hug, when eyes can’t meet, when other gestures cannot be given or shared.

The 20 pages of text are presented in both QR codes and a font designed for dyslexics in order to emphasize the difficulty in expressing emotions and in accepting the words of others in the pain of grief. It also slows the process of reading so that the repetition of condolences gives us a chance to think about and perhaps feel the loss.